There is a general desire to provide human users (operators) with apparatus and corresponding environments for practicing the operation of various equipment, devices and/or tools. Such apparatus and environments may be used for initial training (i.e. prior to the use of such equipment, devices and/or tools for real life applications) and/or ongoing training purposes. By way of non-limiting example, such equipment, devices and/or tools may include industrial equipment, personal devices and/or medical tools. A flight simulation system represents an example of an apparatus and environment which may be used for flight training prior to flying an actual aircraft.
When operating many types of equipment, devices and/or tools, operators interact with the equipment, devices and/or tools using, at least in part, their sense of touch. For example, an operator of a pair of scissors can tell when they are cutting through an object by sensing the resistance to closure of the scissors' handles. In general, when an object is more difficult to cut, there is greater resistance to the closure fo the scissors' handles. A haptic device/system is a type of device/system which interfaces with one or more users, at least in part, via the sense of touch. For example, haptic devices/systems may generate forces, vibrations, motions or the like that may be experienced by an operator of such devices/systems.
A number of haptic systems are in use today. One example of a haptic system in use today is deployed in the navigation systems of large aircraft. In most smaller or older aircraft, there is a direct operational linkage between the aircraft “control stick” (i.e. the user interface) and the “control surfaces” used to manipulate the aircraft's orientation in the sky (e.g. ailerons on the wings and rudders and elevators on the tail). When such an aircraft is flown in a manner approaches a stall condition, aerodynamic buffeting is transferred from the control surfaces, over the operational linkage and to the control stick. This tactile feedback is sensed by the pilot and provides a useful warning to the pilot of dangerous flight conditions. In newer and/or larger planes, however, the operational linkages between the control sticks and the aircrafts' control surfaces have been replaced by electronically controlled servo systems. In aircraft having such servo systems, aerodynamic forces are not transferred from the control surfaces back to the control stick over an operational linkage. Consequently, there is no “natural” tactile indicator of dangerous flight conditions that may be experienced by the pilot on the control stick. In some aircraft, the indicator of dangerous flight conditions has been replaced by a haptic system which monitors the aircraft angle of attack (and possibly other parameters) and, upon approaching a critical stall condition, causes the control stick to shake and to thereby alert the pilot of dangerous flying conditions.
Haptic devices/systems are either being used or envisaged as being useful in a large number and a wide variety of fields. Examples of such fields include, without limitation, electronic gaming, industrial applications, medical applications, robotics and virtual reality applications. By way of non-limiting example, it is envisaged that a number of medical procedures, such as laparoscopy, interventional radiology and the like, could be performed by a medical practitioner operating the interface of a haptic system at a centralized workstation, where the haptic system enables the practitioner to operate tools that perform medical procedures at remote locations.
In many applications, such as industrial and medical applications in particular, it is desirable to provide operators of haptic devices with training before using the haptic devices in real applications. By way of example, for the medical haptic systems discussed above, there is a general desire that the medical practitioner receive training using the haptic systems in a simulated environment, wherein the simulated environment provides haptic feedback that is similar to that which would be experienced when performing an actual medical procedure on a patient. Similarly, for haptic systems used in industrial applications, it is desirable in some instances for device operators to practice using the system in a simulated environment wherein the simulated environment provides haptic feedback that is similar to that which would be experienced when operating the actual device.
There is a general desire to provide methods and apparatus for implementing such haptic simulators and for training the operators of various types of equipment, devices and/or tools.
Other aspects of the invention are set out in the description and drawings provided herewith.